01 March 2023

Overdrive joins the 2023 Caterham Academy

New year, new driver!  Caterham has partnered with OVERDRIVE as our media partner for the 2023 Academy Championship.  Each year Caterham invites a member of the motoring media to take part in our Academy Championship; following on from the likes of Mr JWW and an incredible two years with Paul Woodman from LoveCars, we're proud to welcome OVERDRIVE's very own Callum McIntyre. 

About OVERDRIVE 

OVERDRIVE, launched in August 2021, educates and entertains car lovers from around the world. Their YouTube series includes unique drag races, mini-documentaries and engineering challenges, quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing YouTube channels.  

OVERDRIVE is lead by Scott Mansell, AKA Driver61. Driver61 is the largest independent F1 and motorsports YouTube channel in the world. Started by ex-professional racing driver (and long-term Caterham friend), Scott Mansell, who adds his experience to creating engaging content around F1 races, engineering and other forms of interesting motorsport.

What's In Store?

Callum will race in all eight rounds of the championship, taking place between March and September 2023. This year we’re back at some of the UK’s most well-known circuits including Oulton Park, Thruxton, Snetterton and Donington Park GP.

Over the coming months, OVERDRIVE will document its experience and progress throughout the series on its YouTube and social media channels.

As with the other competitors, McIntyre will race in our most popular race car, the Academy Seven.  Completely road-legal, producing 125bhp and weighing just 550kg, the Academy race car has the power-to-weight ratio to match a Porsche Cayman; and unique 'Academy' tyres to help teach car control.

The Challenge Before The Challenge

With a highly competitive season ahead, the test for OVERDRIVE has already begun. The team set themselves the monumental challenge of building Callum’s race car in just 24 hours. Check out the team’s video to see how they did here.

Callum McIntyre, Head of Production at OVERDRIVE, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Caterham and take part in its Academy Championship. It's always been a dream to go racing, after hundreds of hours in the simulator, and this year I get to do it in the best way possible: in the Academy Championship with a grid of other novice racing drivers.

“Building our car in 24 hours was a lot of fun and a great way to understand how the car works, even if we were exhausted by the end! We know the competition will be fierce, but we can’t wait to take part in our first race at Curborough Sprint.”

Watch the Video

About The Academy

The Caterham Academy is a unique series for drivers completely new to racing. It’s an all-inclusive ‘introduction to motorsport’ package that includes a road-legal Academy race car, ARDS course, competition licence, exclusive track and test days, and a full season of competition with an introductory sprint and seven races, all with ongoing support and guidance from Caterham. Since its launch in 1995, nearly 1,300 people have become racing drivers from the Caterham Academy.

The eight rounds of this year’s Championship consists of one sprint race, five single-header race weekends and one double-header race weekend. It will kick-off at Curborough Sprint Course near Lichfield on 25th March, followed by:

Cadwell Park 15th April 2023
Croft 20th May 2023
Oulton Park 8th July 2023
Thruxton 29th July 2023
Snetterton 19th – 20th August 2023 (double-header)
Donington Park GP 2nd – 3rd September 2023

The final race of the season at Donington Park will be a special celebration, as Caterham will host its 50th Anniversary Festival on the race weekend. More details about the event will be announced later in the year.

Find out more information on the Caterham Academy Championship here.